Sol–gel derived CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics: Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties

The giant dielectric constant material CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) has been synthesized by sol–gel method, for the first time, using nitrate and alkoxide precursor. The electrical properties of CCTO ceramics, showing an enormously large dielectric constant ɛ ∼ 60,000 (100 Hz at RT), were investigated in the temperature range from 298 to 358 K at 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 V dc. The phases, microstructures, and impedance properties of final samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and precision impedance analyzer. The dielectric permittivity of CCTO synthesized by sol–gel method is at least three times of magnitude larger than that synthesized by other low-temperature method and solid-state reaction method. Furthermore, the results support the internal barrier layer capacitor (IBLC) model of Schottky barriers at grain boundaries between semiconducting grains.